--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anarchism does not demand the changing of…" description: "\"“Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on the layers, it doesn't want different people on top, it wants us to clamber out underneath.”\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png" --- # Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on… ![“Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on the layers, it doesn't want different people on top, it wants us to clamber out underneath.” quote by Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png) > ““Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on the layers, it doesn't want different people on top, it wants us to clamber out underneath.”” [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anarchism seeks to dismantle hierarchies, not replace leaders. **In simple terms:** It aims to remove top-down control. Key Takeaway Promote equal, bottom‑up structures. Themes equality liberation structure Mood critical hopeful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - community projects - co‑ops - grassroots movements Key Concepts horizontalism social organization empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice horizontal decision‑making? - What barriers exist to true equality? A Different Perspective Changing deep structures is complex and slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ## Related quotes > [ Anarchism does not repudiate the right of ownership, but it has a conception thereof sufficiently different from \[others'\] to include the possibility of an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/anarchism-does-not-repudiate-the-right-of-ownership-but-it-has-a/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of capitalism. Anarchism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-spies/anarchism-does-not-mean-bloodshed-it-does-not-mean-robbery-arson-etc/) [August Spies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-spies/) > [“America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/america-is-the-only-nation-in-the-world-that-is-founded-on-a-creed/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [God must trust some with money and fame because there are people He wants to reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/god-must-trust-some-with-money-and-fame-because-there-are-people-he/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [A people that wants to be free must arm itself with a free press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-seldes/a-people-that-wants-to-be-free-must-arm-itself-with-a-free-press/) [George Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-seldes/) > [I find people to be people everywhere. Everyone wants the same thing - be successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-whitacre-jr/i-find-people-to-be-people-everywhere-everyone-wants-the-same-thing/) [Edward Whitacre, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-whitacre-jr/) > [People's wants are not fixed; they generally want what others in their chosen comparison class appear to be enjoying and what advertising presents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/people-s-wants-are-not-fixed-they-generally-want-what-others-in-their/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [If you reach the people nobody wants, God will give you the people everybody wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-barnett/if-you-reach-the-people-nobody-wants-god-will-give-you-the-people/) [Tommy Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-barnett/) > [Its not about how many people wants to have it, its all about how many people wants to keep it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/its-not-about-how-many-people-wants-to-have-it-its-all-about-how-many/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [“Some people want to see the northern lights. Some people wants to see the Grand Canyon. Some people wants to see the Holy Grail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-hartwell/some-people-want-to-see-the-northern-lights-some-people-wants-to-see/) [Luke Hartwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-hartwell/) > [Hillary Clinton's raising the money from the people she wants to control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/hillary-clinton-s-raising-the-money-from-the-people-she-wants-to/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I think when we're just given the same type of thing over and over again, with the same types of people, no one wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-gordon/i-think-when-we-re-just-given-the-same-type-of-thing-over-and-over/) [Molly Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-gordon/) > [“For the most part, the people are the same. Everyone wants something to believe in. Everyone wants someone to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/for-the-most-part-the-people-are-the-same-everyone-wants-something-to/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Many people wants to be the president...they have ambition. Just ambition is not enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/many-people-wants-to-be-the-president-they-have-ambition-just/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [When we see a hero, on the one hand, we applaud them; on the other hand, there is something in a lot of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-we-see-a-hero-on-the-one-hand-we-applaud-them-on-the-other-hand/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Colin Ward > [American strategists have calculated the proportion of civilians killed in this century's major wars. In the First World War, 5 percent of those killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/american-strategists-have-calculated-the-proportion-of-civilians/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [Those who have prophesied dreadful consequences as a result of the greater sexual freedom which the young assert - unwanted babies, venereal disease and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/those-who-have-prophesied-dreadful-consequences-as-a-result-of-the/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [The anarchist conclusion is that every kind of human activity should begin from what from what is local and immediate, should link in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/the-anarchist-conclusion-is-that-every-kind-of-human-activity-should/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [Every state protects the privileges of the powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/every-state-protects-the-privileges-of-the-powerful/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [Anarchy is a function, not of a society's simplicity and lack of social organization, but of it's complexity and multiplicity of social organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/anarchy-is-a-function-not-of-a-society-s-simplicity-and-lack-of/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [The terrifying breakdown of social cohesion in the American city, in spite of intense institutionalized police surveillance equipped with every sophisticated aid to public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/the-terrifying-breakdown-of-social-cohesion-in-the-american-city-in/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [The fact there is no route-map to utopia does not mean that there are no routes to more accessible destinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/the-fact-there-is-no-route-map-to-utopia-does-not-mean-that-there-are/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) > [The important question is, therefore, not whether anarchy is possible or not, but whether we can so enlarge the scope and influence of libertarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/the-important-question-is-therefore-not-whether-anarchy-is-possible/) [Colin Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) [Explore all 9 Colin Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/) ## More Anarchism quotes > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [“They knew that their anarchism was the product of a very high civilization, of a complex diversified culture, of a stable economy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/they-knew-that-their-anarchism-was-the-product-of-a-very-high/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 388 Anarchism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on the layers, it doesn't want different people on top, it wants us to clamber out underneath.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colin Ward" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-of-the-labels-on-the-layers-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anarchism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-of-the-labels-on-the-layers-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/241/colin-ward-45071_anarchism_anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-o_1571284.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anarchism does not demand the changing of the labels on the layers, it doesn't want different people on top…” — Colin Ward", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Colin Ward", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-ward/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Anarchism does not demand the changing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-of-the-labels-on-the-layers-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-ward/anarchism-does-not-demand-the-changing-of-the-labels-on-the-layers-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```